VERTEBRATS (2014) · 2014. 9. 13. · DAVID MENGUAL FREE SPIRITS BIG BAND v New CD Vertebrats...

DAVID MENGUAL FREE SPIRITS BIG BAND

VERTEBRATS (2014)

six big band suitesarranged by Toni Vaquer


vNew CD

VertebratsRelease date: september 2014

After Menta, Diari Sonor and Univers Evans, in its latest release Vertebrats (2014), the Free Spirits Big Band keeps believing in improvisation and risk by means of a tightly-bonded cast of musi-cians. The big news in Vertebrats is the introduction of contempo-rary dance, which blends smoothly with the musical language of the band. Two top-level dancers interact as if they were just two more musicians to give shape to the work of the talented piano player from Majorca, Toni Vaquer, under the musical and artistic direction of David Mengual. Vertebrats means the consolidation of the Free Spirits project in its relentless search of a unique sound in the Big Band scene.

From mistery and elusiveness to an epic sense of celebration, from intimism to impressionism, David Mengual Free Spirits Big Band’s last work, Vertebrats, is a musical and visual trip of shared sounds. Built from small compositions, originals and versions, the trip converges in 6 suites born in the mind of Toni Vaquer.

Vertebrats is anything but an empty name: it reminds us of a need of adaptation, of evolution, which is also a need to leave a trace, paleontho-logical or discographical, from a body of work made by two simmetrical parts –in a certain way, this is what these suites really are. This need of evolution has become visible in live performan-ces of the Big Band, where Juliette Louste’s dan-ce & choreography found a fertile terrain to grow.

Aram Montagut


v


vThe suites

CD1

Suite no1

1. Canicas 1:412. En Patufet i sa lletuga 2:063. L’Ira del Bosc 0:444. El Resumen 2:095. Guantanamo Cell Block nº34 3:01

Suite no2

6. La colònia de formigues 2:007. Dimonis fent foguerons 1:428. Cims escarpats 3:039. Com tu vulguis (Jordi Mestres) 1:41

Suite no3

10. Tomàtiga de ramellet 1:1911. Teràpia no1 - Estrats Carabasses 1:0912. Teràpia no2 - Miranda Post Nuclear Sard Melody 3:11 13. Climbing the Robles Peak 3:3013. Toni Melassa (D. Mengual) 5:21

14. Infant Out (D. Mengual) 1:00

CD 2

1. Infant In (D. Mengual) 1:12

Suite no4

2. Plaga de Ratas siguiendo a flautista enfermo 3:213. Las crónicas de Saturno 5:384. Invisible Tune 2:015. Free Spirits Groove 2:46

Suite no5

6. Teo 2:257. La Tortuga Ferida (D. Mengual) 4:14 8. Iratxe (D. Mengual) 2:149. Perfréderic (D. Mengual) 3:19

Suite no6

10. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) 2:09 11. Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin) 4:27 12. Kashmir (Led Zeppelin) 3:4413. Bourrée en Mi Mineur (J.S. Bach) 0:3014. Blackbird (Lennon-McCartney) 2:3015. Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix) 0:4216. Hey Joe (Trad.) 5:1817. Himne (Oriol Roca) 4:03


Álvar Monfort, Natsuko Sugao - Trumpets, FlugelhornIván Gonzalez - Trumpet & HornJoan Mas - Alto saxPintxo Villar - Alto and soprano saxGonzalo Levin - Tenor sax and flute Jordi Santanach - Tenor sax, flauta and bass clarinetJuan Saiz - Flute Aram Montagut, Dario Garcia - Trombones Amaiur Gonzalez - Tuba Enric Peinado - Guitar, Cavaquinho Lina Lomanto, Toni Vaquer - Piano & Hammond Alex Reviriego - Bass Josema Martín, Oriol Roca - Drums & percussions

OCTET

Roser Farré, Maria Ibáñez - Violin /// Alicia Domínguez - Viola ///Margarida Mariño - Cello /// Marcel.lí Bayer, Jordi Santanach - Clarinet ///Pau Domenech - Bass clarinete /// Alfonso Fernandez Vargas - Bassoon ///

Toni Vaquer - Arranger and composerDavid Mengual - Director and composer

vThe band


David MengualBorn in Barcelona (1970), David Mengual is one of the leading names in the catalan jazz scene. After a long career as a restless leader of all kinds of groups, combined it with his work as a versatile double bass sideman, Mengual now presents his newest project, the young and exhuberant Free Spirits Big Band.

Throughout his career, his contributions with prominent members of national and international jazz community features names like Barry Harris, George Cables, Kevin Hayes, Steve Wilson, Eric Alexander, Paul Edmonds, Spanky Willson, Perico Sambeat, Tim Garland, Mike Nielsen, Phillipe Thomas, José Luis Gamez, George Masso, Paul Stocker, Jordi Bonell, Albert Bover, Michelle McCain, Biella da Costa, Fabio Miano, David Sauzay, Gäel Horellau, Bill McHenrry, Ben Waltzer, Nat Su, Christine Tobin, Kirk McDonald, Dana Hall, Lluis Vidal Trio, Orquestra de Cambra del Teatre Lliure, Mark Feldman, Joan Diaz Trio, Xavi Maureta, Llibert Fortuny...

But Mengual’s influence is more clearly seen in his personal projects; a focus of artistic multipersonal creativity in which the creator acts as a catalyst of ideas, sensibilities and talents with a long list of sidemen and accomplices in the search. Since his first, award-winning tribute to Monk (Monkiana, 1997, Best Album of the Year by the magazine “Cuadernos de Jazz”, Mengual constantly explores all kinds of formats and aesthetics, as can be heard in recordings as Des d’Aquí (1999), a duet with Albert Sanz (Spanish Best Album of the Year by the magazine “Cuadernos de Jazz”), or the diptych Mosaic (simultaneous edition of 2 CD with the same songs played freely with Dani Perez and Jon Robles, and in

Nonet format with arrangements by Javier Feierstein). His relentless search for new avenues of expression for the conventional jazz sound, both as a performer (multiawarded by the AMJC) and as a composer and arranger (in his project “Deriva” , based on a succession of creative offshoots that find their starting point in some photographs of Carles Roche and flow through the poetry by David Castillo as a link between images and music) show his constant ambition to break the mould and to build new expressive bridges between his own personality and that of his partners.

Fully open to powerful electric sounds (participating in the Libert Fortuny Electric Quintet, Best Band of the Year in 2004 by the AMJC) or locked in the most radical intimate lyricism search (duet projects with saxophonist Jon Robles crystallized in the recordings “95/05” or “Descuentos”), Mengual has experienced in recent times with mutant formations that challenge forms or models in order to constantly reinvent themselves (changing teams that have given shape to his project “Maitia”).

After returning to his more introspective creative vein with the David Mengual Slow Quartet, he now is fully inmersed in this big band project (where also participate the members of the Slow Quartet): no doubt, the Free Free Spirits Big Band is the most ambitious of his projects in terms of personnel, perseverance and implication.

vDavid MengualMusical director


vToni VaquerComposer and arranger

Toni Vaquer (Palma de Mallorca, 1986) trained as a pianist at the Liceu Conservatory (Jazz and Modern music Area), while attending master classes with Joan Albert Amargós, Sergi Vergés, Bill McHenry, Eddie Gomez, Jorge Rossy, Joe Martin, Bruce Barth, Dave Kikoski, Steve Grossmann, Peter Bernstein, Dave Frank, among others.

Member of the Slow Quartet of David Mengual and Felix Rossy Quintet, led his own projects such as Llombart / Vaquer Duo, Sleepy Koala Trio y el septeto La companyia ACME. As arranger for the Sant Cugat Big Band, directed by David Mengual, has received several awards and honourable mentions throughout his career, which moves under a sign of constant creativity. In 2010, he undertook a unique project which consisted in composing one piece daily for a year, resulting in a work of 365 themes and 52 danced variations; this project would be the germ from which stem the actual Vertebrats project.

Toni Vaquer’s first collaboration with the Free Spirits was in the second recording of the band, Menta, Diari Sonor, where he arranged Le Dice El Niño, a joint venture that eventually resulted in the present Vertebrats project, where Vaquer has arranged all the music of this repertoire.


vJuliette Louste / Melodie Cecchini Coreographies

Juliette Louste (Taluyers, France 1988) grew up and studied in the region of Lyon, and, from 2007 on, she lives and works in Barcelona. In 2013 she got her degree in the Institut del Teatre, especialized in Coreography, with a mention of honour.

From 2002, she works in various posts in the dance world, mainly in Spain, France and Switzerland, as a producer and technician or as a teacher and occasional direction assitant of various coreographers, like Carolyn Carlson. As a dancer, she works in different projects and companies, like, from 2009, PerkImBa (directed by N. Fernández and T. Höchstatter). She also works as a coreographer for different theater directors, as well as her own projects, among them It’s the same old dream... (2012), Monk’ments and Réalités parallèles (2013).

From 2009 she keeps and ongoing investigation around the relationship between jazz and contemporary dance. Apart from occasional projects and improvisations, she is a regular collaborator with the piano Player Toni Vaquer, like in the project 365 temes i 52 variacions, after which came the duo Games, followed by the Doble Quartet project.

French dancer Melodie Cecchini studied in Barcelona with Anna San-chez. She grew up as a dancer with names as David Zambrano, Sharon Fridman, Roberto Olivan, Hofesh Cie, Jordi Cortés, Laly Ayguadé o Elena Fokina. Her first steps as a dancer were at the Cobosmika Company, directed by Olga Cobos y Peter Mika, in the productions Wish, Tango, Choice y Skakeja’t. This allowed her to perform in various venues in Spain, Germany, France, Canary Islands or Slovakia.

She also worked with coreographers like Laura Vilar, Russel Maliphant or Akram Khan Company, in international projects as the Opening of Lon-don 2012 OIympic Games.

She has worked as a coregrapher assistant at Katia Benbelkacem’s Cie PrÄk, and develops a live music duo along with Max Villavechia Group, projects like Noche en Vela at the Festival Som Ciutat Flamenco (BCN) and Improvist collectif at the MACBA museum(BCN).

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vDiscography

MENTA, DIARI SONORJazzenviu Records, 2013 / Bebyne, 2014

featuring Celeste Alías, Pablo Selnik, David Soler

arranged by Sergi Sirvent, Giulia Valle, Toni Vaquer, Joan Díaz and David Mengual

Songs and music that marked and accompanied David in his life, arranged by his companions and special friends.

UNIVERS EVANSQuadrant Records, 2011 / Bebyne, 2014

featuring Joan Díaz

arranged by Joan Díaz and David Mengual

The recording debut of the Free Spirits is an hommage to Bill Evans from the unique prism of Joan Díaz’s arrangements and the direction of David Mengual.


vThe press has said

Free Spirits suena, como su nombre sugiere, a un grupo de espíritus libres, y por tanto llenos de energía entusiasmo e ilusión, y una imaginación desatada, todo ello con la agilidad claridad y fuerza en el sonido que sólo se consiguen con la dedicación propia del que ama lo que hace... algo enormementemás poderoso que la ¨disciplina¨.Jordi Rossy

David Mengual es uno de esos irreductibles que cuando deciden hacer algo, lo hacen a lo grandePere Pons

Le contrabassiste David Mengual appartient à l’élite du jazz espagnol. (...) À decouvrir absolumentCitizen Jazz

Tot i tractar-se d’una big band, la Free Spirits destaca per la seva frescor i el seu esperit de grup. Es tracta d’un projecte construït amb amor i unes bases de risc i interacció inusuals en aquest format. Una verdadera joia del nostre jazz.Giuilia Valle

Esta manera de trabajar de Mengual debería servir de ejemplo. La colectividad musical de una banda multi-instrumental y la conuencia de la constancia y la perseverancia, todo mezclado con el entusiasmo y las ganas...Arion Molina, Sax Sounds Magazine.

“Risc. Cohesió. Personalitat.”Pablo Selnik


© 2014 bebyne records

More information: www.bebyne.com

Bebyne Productions, S.L.U.P.O. Box 6.024, 08080 Barcelona, [email protected]

Booking & Management: bebyne [email protected] . www.bebyne.comPersonal manager: Alvar [email protected]

Distribution: Absolute [email protected] . www.absolutedistribution.com

VERTEBRATS (2014) · 2014. 9. 13. · DAVID MENGUAL FREE SPIRITS BIG BAND v New CD Vertebrats...

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Transcript of VERTEBRATS (2014) · 2014. 9. 13. · DAVID MENGUAL FREE SPIRITS BIG BAND v New CD Vertebrats...